Rudolf stood before everyone in the main lobby and spoke,"I'm glad all of you took this seriously.I want everyone to know how sincerely I'm sorry for all of the [he searched for the correct word as he looked at Lolita and Rick before him] Commotion. It is going to take time for most of us to recover from what has happen,but for the moment I have made new rules and regulations. Firstly,No parties in the building. Whether it is a birthday party or a get together with music that could be herd in the hallway. it is not allowed.." Samantha stood up,"Really?You gotta be kidding me?You cant do that!" Rudolf looked at her without sympathy.She sat down and he continued,"..Second, Bars will be placed on all windows except those that are connected to the fire escapes."A young Asian woman spoke,"If I wanted to be in a jail i would have committed a crime." A Caucasian man with streaks of grey through his black hair and wearing Army issued camo responded to her,"As if five times wasn't enough for your protests!" She stood up and yelled,"You killed people who could have been reformed in this life without harm,and your going to tell me i belong behind bars!"He stood up and yelled back,"They were plotting to attack us again! I saved millions of lives because of my fight!How many lives did you protect through your protests! You got people killed as well Ms.Burrows!" She lunged at him but Adrine stepped in front of her to hold her back."Amylin and Sargent Johnson enough!"Rudolf demanded. Amylin pushed Adrine off her and sat down and Sargent Johnson took his seat. Sargent Johnson felt her glare on him. Shaking his head he continued,"..Third,Everyone is to sign in and out when they enter the building and if you bring company they must sign in as well." Everyone shook there heads in disbelief. "...Fourth,Monthly housing walkthroughs will be taken,no exceptions!" Samantha spoke under her breath,"What about a rain check? Most of us have lives outside of the building you control freak." Marcus giggled.Rudolf shot them a glare that shut both of them up and continued,"..Finally, I would like to introduce your new security guard Clifford Baxtor.If you believe something is wrong or if something could be improved you talk to him." Rudolf pointed to Clifford Baxtor in the back of the main lobby by the entrance. Clifford felt every ones cold glare on him and smiled and waved. Antonio who was sitting in front of Samantha and Marcus asked,"What do you think of him?" Samantha turned to him,"Cliff is cool peoples." Antonio smiled at Samantha and replied,"Ill take your word for it." Everyone looked back at Rudolf. An elderly black man raised his hand.Rudolf wanted to ignore him but figured it would make more people hate him,"Yes,Henrey?" He helped himself up with a silver cane and spoke with a raspy voice,"I pay for my apartment through government assistance.Will rent be increased because of Mr.Baxtor or any of your new rules and regulations?" Rudolf answered quickly,"Well I'm being funded through different agencies for the new protocols,so rent will remain the same.All these changes wont happen instantly, they will happen in time.I just wanted to inform everyone." Henrey sat down and accidentally hit Grace with his cane. "Hey! Watch it or I'm going to give you some real blues to sing about!" Grace yelled. Henrey smirked it had been a long time since someone recognized him for his blues career. Grace moved over a seat then asked Rudolf,"So,How long exactly will it be?" Rudolf looked at how beautiful she looked even though she was in jogging pants and a work out shirt. "Well?"she demanded. Remembering her question he replied,"I cant really say,could be a month could be a year." She huffed and crossed her arms then looked away. Everyone smiled at how she looked like a child who couldn't get a toy. Samantha who was sitting across the room from her replied to her antics,"Aww Grace?Don't worry I'm sure Mr.B will tell you two weeks before he changes things.Look at it like this,with two weeks you could make sure all of America and half of Europe know about the changes." Everyone giggled. Grace looked around at everyone with anger but noticed that Rudolf wasn't laughing. "Alright ,everyone settle down."Rudolf said loudly.As everyone held their laughter Grace mouthed a thank you and Rudolf smiled accomplished.
As the room began to clear out Marcus walked over to Henrey and asked,"Don't worry bout' Grace Mr.Brown, you know how she is." He smiled at him,"Shes not the first one I've dealt with,kid.Plus her reminding me of my golden days was the best sorry I've ever received." Marcus looked at him confused. Henrey looked down and shook his head,"Kids these days don't know real music." Marcus looked at him shocked,"You were in the music business Mr.Brown?" Looking up at him with a smile,"Yes,a very long time ago." Marcus smiled,"I'm trying to get into the business myself." Henrey looked at him confused. "I'm a rapper Mr.Brown."Marcus said confidently. Henrey shook his head with a smile,"Stick with me kid,Ill teach you about real music." Marcus and Henrey waited for the elevator and continued talking...
"So whats the deal with you Tony?"Samantha asked Antonio as he was texting.He looked up with a smile,"What do you mean Sam?" Samantha grabbed his phone and looked at the recipient it read Tamara "Wifey". Antonio looked at her with fear as she handed the phone back as soon as she made her discovery. "Didn't you and Tammy break up four years ago?"She said with a you got to be shitting me face. Antonio looked down,"Were trying to work it out." Samantha shook her head,"Man,she lives in California and she has a husband! Ain't no way you could work that shit out." He looked at her knowing her words were the truth but he didn't want to believe it. Samantha tilted her head to the side and asked,"What ever happen to that chick,um,Ruby?Sapphire?-" Antonio spoke,"Diamond." "Yeahhhhh her.Knew it was some sort of jewel." Antonio looked at Adrine and Analisette talking to Rick and Lolita across the room. Samantha looked where he was looking,"Oh cant talk in front of the cool kids,huh? Gothcha. You should come out with me one day, we could pick up chicks! I'm a great wingman! Bitches love me."They both laughed...
Adrine spoke,"I'm really glad your okay Lolita i was getting worried."She shook her head,"Yeah,It was stupid of me to do what I did its just[she looked at Rick,who shook his head NO]I had my reasons." Analisette hugged her.It felt weird but the genuine warmth almost brought a tear to Lolita's eye."You did pretty good in that situation Rick,I was surprised."Adrine said with a smile. Rick shrugged,"I did what any human being would have done." All three of them were impressed with his modesty. "If you guys want to come over for dinner anytime just text me or just come over.I would love to talk about everything."Analisette said with a smile.Everyone exchanged numbers and parted ways...
Everyone was gone except for Clifford. He began to fold the chairs in the lobby and stack them in an orderly pile.When he was finished he took the bottom of his shirt and wiped sweat from his brow. When he lowered his shirt Minerva stood in front of him. Sweetly she asked,"Mr.Baxtor can I talk to you about something?" Clifford felt a knot in his stomach and shook his head yes...
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